


Eden

by idvo



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Character Study, Conversations, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-07
Updated: 2013-05-07
Packaged: 2017-12-10 15:57:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/787825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idvo/pseuds/idvo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a routine patrol of the Neutral Zone, the Enterprise encounters a group of rebellious travelers searching for a place called “Eden.” McCoy has his doubts about their ambitions and shares them with Kirk, who is torn between wanting to believe in Spock’s faith in their mission and knowing that he must follow Starfleet’s orders. Based on the TOS episode "The Way to Eden."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eden

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Star Trek: The Original Reboot](http://theoriginalreboot.tumblr.com/post/46068945700/begin-shipwide-broadcast-so-as-you-may-have) over at tumblr.
> 
> So I was pretty far along in the fic I was originally writing when I realized I was basically writing the episode as it was, just with a few changes here and there. So I scrapped most of that idea and expanded on one of the scenes instead. “The Way to Eden” itself is pretty bad, but it always intrigues me how Spock is the one who sympathizes the most with Sevrin’s group, while Kirk’s the one who needs convincing, so I wanted to explore that a bit here. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

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E D E N  
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“Guy’s off his rocker, Jim,” McCoy said, folding his arms and leaning against his desk. “He thinks he can just go off to whatever planet catches his eye and take over, no questions asked. He’s pretty determined, too. I assigned a couple more guards to his iso-chamber.”

The chronometer next to the door read 22:15. The lights were dim in the main examination area, and the only light in McCoy’s office was a small desk lamp. Dr. Sevrin’s room was beyond a door at the far side of sickbay, the last room at the end of a short corridor. A security officer stood watch at the door, subtly flirting with one of the nurses. She kept most of her attention on her duty, however, keeping the door in sight at all times, even when the nurse pulled one of the oldest tricks in the book by dropping her stylus and ever-so-slowly retrieving it. Her plan almost backfired when she stumbled and nearly fell, and through McCoy’s observation window Kirk watched the security officer bite back a laugh. He smiled, relieved that most of his crew wasn’t as stressed as he was over recent events.

Despite his crew’s antics and the few patients and nurses in the large room, it was quiet in sickbay, quieter than any other place on the ship, in fact, something that always made Kirk feel restless. It reminded him of the quiet that seemed to envelop all of Riverside when he was a boy.

Kirk sat back in his seat. “You sure there’s no getting through to him?”

“Positive. He’s dead set on finding this ‘Eden’ of his—thinks it’ll solve all his problems. I tried to tell him that all he’d accomplish would be bringing his disease to a planet where the inhabitants may or may not be immune, where they most likely have no idea how to go about curing him or have any incentive to do it, but he won’t listen to damn thing I say.” McCoy snorted. “Not that I’m not used to _that_.”

Kirk was silent for a moment. He looked over to a cabinet across from McCoy’s desk and thought about suggesting that he and McCoy share a drink. Under different circumstances, they’d be able to gripe and debate about this over a nice snifter or two of brandy, but he knew that the doctor would never allow that when he had to be on duty in less than an hour. It’d do wonders to calm his nerves, though. “Spock says he might be able to find Eden.”

“He couldn’t find his own asshole with a mirror and two hands.”

“Bones.”

“What?” McCoy fixed him with a sharp look. “Eden doesn’t exist, Jim. It’s a myth. You know that.”

“But what if it isn’t?” Kirk rested his elbows on his knees and concentrated on the patch of carpet in front of his feet. “What if it’s really out there? They seem to believe it. Hell, _Spock_ even believes it.”

“If it does exist then it would have been discovered and turned into a resort by now.” McCoy uncrossed his arms and gripped the desk at either side of his hips. “Probably by the Orions. In any case Jim, our hands are tied here.”

“And Spock is searching awfully close to the Neutral Zone,” Kirk said.

“There’s also the Prime Directive to consider.”

Kirk briefly glanced up. “Spock told me he was only searching for uninhabited planets.”

“Oh, great. So now we’re looking for not only a planet that’s perfectly suited to intelligent life, but also, _conveniently_ , has none living there already?”

Kirk went silent again, and then, in a low voice said, “They managed to find New Vulcan.”

McCoy took in an audible breath. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

When Spock first approached Kirk about helping Sevrin and his followers, Kirk had thought he’d finally—like McCoy said on almost a daily basis—lost his Vulcan mind. He was prepared to shut him down, to tell him there was no time for chasing after paradise, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the look in Spock’s eyes; they’d lost their usual coolness and seemed almost pleading. Spock himself acted slightly uncertain, like he expected to be shot down. And why wouldn’t he expect that? They were under orders to deliver the group to the nearest starbase. It wasn’t like they could just ignore those orders and act as a glorified taxi service to a band of thieves. But when Spock quickly explained himself (perhaps he’d picked up on Kirk’s hesitation), saying that he knew what it was like to be without a place that fully accepted him, that he knew what it was like to search for a new home, Kirk relented. Spock assured him that he wasn’t going to attempt to transport the group anywhere besides the starbase, just that he would give the relevant coordinates to them when they dropped them off.

Sickbay seemed to grow quieter. A glance out the window told Kirk that the nurse must have gone back to her duties, for the security officer had turned her entire attention to guarding the door. He strained to hear the hum of _Enterprise’s_ engines.

“Look, Jim,” McCoy said. “I understand how this might make Spock more sympathetic to them and their cause, and believe me I’m thrilled to see him compassionate about something for once.” McCoy ignored the look Kirk shot him. “But the situation with Vulcan is different. Their planet was completely destroyed. They literally had nowhere they could call home.” He sighed and rubbed his mouth. “These people, they might not like how things are back where they’re from, but it’s not like they’re being persecuted for their beliefs. Right now, all they’re doing is running away from their problems.”

“And you think they should stay and try to fix them?” Kirk guessed.

McCoy nodded. “Hell, I agree with them somewhat. We’ve gotten pretty complacent about things these days. We’re so eager to try out new tech that we barely work out all the bugs first. We’re lucky we have the crew we do—you’ve heard about the shit that happens on other ships. But that doesn’t mean we should turn our backs on all of it. We just need to be more careful, is all. Point out problems when we see ‘em and try to work on a compromise.”

Kirk gave a short huff. “They don’t seem to think compromise is possible.”

“Of course not!” McCoy pushed off from the desk and walked around it. Sitting down, he said, “They’re so damn hostile that no one wants to listen to them. You remember what they were like when they first came on board, yelling and carrying on like we were the ones about to break interplanetary law. It’s all that damn Sevrin’s fault, too. Got his hands on a bunch of idealistic kids who’ll follow him anywhere if they think they’re doing the right thing.” He turned on his console and shook his head. “It’s all going to come crashing down eventually.”

Kirk wondered once more whether or not he could get that drink. Deciding that he didn’t have a snowball’s chance, he stood up. “I understand,” he said. He caught McCoy’s eye. “I still trust Spock’s judgment on this, though.”

McCoy rolled his eyes. “Why do I even bother?”

Kirk grinned. “Don’t worry Bones. I still like you.” Reaching across the desk, he clapped him on the shoulder and went to the door. Stopping, he turned back and said, “But seriously, thanks. I’ll keep it all in mind. And if I get the sense that this plan will do more harm than good, I’ll pull the plug on the whole thing.”

“If you say so,” McCoy said, getting back to his work.

Kirk walked into the main room and nodded towards the security officer, who nodded back. He left sickbay and headed towards the turbolift. Checking a nearby chromometer, he saw that he had a few minutes before his shift started. He could probably have a brief chat with Spock to get an update on his progress and tell him what McCoy discovered about Dr. Sevrin. He reached the turbolift and requested the bridge. As the gentle humming of the ship once again filled the space around him, Kirk relaxed. The distinct sounds of an engine always had that effect on him, whether it was his dad’s old car, his bike, or _Enterprise_ herself.

If he was being honest with himself, despite his faith in Spock, he still had doubts. He knew that Spock wouldn’t become emotionally invested in something like this. Would he? How would he react to learning the truth about Dr. Sevrin? He’d find out soon enough, he figured, as the turbolift came to a stop and he stepped out onto the bridge.

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End file.
